Why Wet?

I was wondering if wet food is really that important.
My family eats dry food every day and gets one can of wet a week.They get the tuna juice out of the can, pieces of cooked hamburger, chicken, whatever we had for supper. Last time we fed wet regularly...once a day...Sabre gained alot of weight. Even though we took out some dry.
Should my guys be getting more wet.

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Comments

Sabre, I would suggest that you take a look at catinfo.org
This is a brief excerpt from that site, which is written by a vet:
Diet is the brick and mortar of health. This web page lays out some often-ignored principles of feline nutrition and explains why cats have a better chance at optimal health if they are fed a quality canned food diet instead of dry kibble. Putting a little thought into what you feed your cat(s) can pay big dividends over their lifetime and very possibly help them avoid serious, painful and costly illnesses. An increasing number of American Veterinary Medical Association members, including board-certified veterinary internists, are now strongly recommending the feeding of canned food instead of dry kibble.
The three key negative issues associated with dry food are:
1) type of protein - too high in plant-based versus animal-based proteins
2) carbohydrate load is too high
3) water content is too low
I\'m honestly not sure why adding more wet would cause your cats to gain weight - usually it is just the opposite. What canned food were you using?

Hi Olivia. GREAT SITE!!!!
They get Merrick Canned or Science Diet Pouches usually. If the store does not have that then I look for something else chunky with a gravy...like Wellness Pouches.
Rodney will eat any type of wet but Sabre prefers the chunky kind with sauce.

Keep in mind that the feeding recommendations on the wet cans are usually too high. We don't eat as much as is recommended on the cans. I have lost a ton of weight since I stopped kibble and eat all wet food now. Well, not a ton, more like two pounds. But that's alot for a cat.

Timo,
so I shouldn't feed what it says on the can?
That seems odd.
My little guy, on what the medium sized cans says, should get 1 can a day. Any less than that seems unfair to him. Sabre is supposed to get 1.5 cans a day, I can see giving him 1 but again that still seems a little unfair. They are very active boys.

Hiya Sabre,
The amounts on the can are just a guideline. Every cat is a little different. Me, Pippi, and Teaka are all from the same family. I\'m a little on the larger side, but Pip & Teaka are about the same size. Nevertheless, Pip & I could out-eat Teaka in a heartbeat! If she ate as much as us, she\'d be one fat momma! MOL
So, just like with the hoomans, everycat is a little different. If you gain weight, cut back on your portions a bit. ALSO, any cat food with too much grain in it usually causes weight gain. So, maybe try going for grain-free foods for a while.

Hi Sabre. I think Loki just about covered it. I have to be careful how much I eat or I gain weight. And if I eat food with alot of grain I really pack on the pounds. But I am not very active. I don't really do much. Just like to lounge around. So, good advice from Loki. Every cat is different.

thanks Loki and Timo.
Their dry kibble is grain-free because Sabre actually has an issue with it. Not only does he gain weight very quickly but he gets itchy.
Next time i am at the feed store i am going to pick up some grain free canned food. It is made buy the same company as their kibble. Rodney will eat it but I doubt Sabre will because it is a pate. Hears hoping though.
For about 4 days now I have been giving them each half a can of wet in the morning and half a cup of dry at night. I used to have to give 3/4 of a cup morning a night.
Right now the wet they are on if Friskies Chunky with gravy. The local pet store doesn't sell Merrick Cat cans because no one buys it...but they sell Merrick dog canned and kibble and Before Grain. They also don't sell the science diet canned even though they sell they dry food. I did pick up some Wellness Pouches so I may have to stick with that of they do not like the grain-free canned...which is ok.
We will keep them on the wet in morning dry and night for a few weeks and see how they do. Here's hoping Sabre loses some weight and Rodney gains some.

We're in a similar boat, Matty is a little on the "robust" side, while I've always been sort of a runt, and I've found it harder to keep healthy weight on in these latter years. Dad keeps kibble available to me, but we both are getting more used to wet food. Thanks for the good info and linx guys.

well actually Sabre, for example on the fancy feast 3 oz cans it reccomends feed 1 can for every 3 pounds of weight. Sprinkles is 10 pounds and eats 1 can a day(ushually half a can a day since their morning meal consists of dry food and evening is wet), and she isn't underweight or anything.